BitPesa Restructures, Secures $15M For Expansion

B2B FinTech BitPesa, which operates a platform offering foreign exchange and cross-border payment services, is restructuring and has announced new funding to support its expansion efforts.

The company said on Tuesday (Oct. 22) that it is now part of parent company AZA Group, which now encompasses the BitPesa, BFX and TransferZero brands. AZA Group also said it raised $15 million in debt financing from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), which will be used to strengthen its presence in Southern Africa and to expand into new markets in the Middle East and across Northern and Southern Africa, with an eye toward servicing larger corporate customers.

The company focuses on global currency trading solutions and financial services in both the B2B and B2C frontier.

BitPesa is a foreign exchange and cross-border payments platform that uses blockchain to settle transactions for corporates based in Africa. Before the rebrand, it operated the BFX solution, which processed cross-border B2B transactions for large, multinational corporates and small businesses across Africa.

The AZA Group also encompasses TransferZero, an API FinTech that supports online international money transfers for consumers. The company was acquired by BitPesa last year, with BitPesa CEO Elizabeth Rossiello stating at the time that the takeover would support the firm’s expansion across Europe.

In a statement Tuesday, Rossiello said that the AZA Group aims to be “an integral part of how Africa is accelerating its growth.”

“The potential for frontier markets continues to increase and becomes more globally relevant,” she continued. “We’re solving a continent-wide challenge of a lack of financial infrastructure available for growing businesses – and we are doing it using a unique combination of financial and technological tools with a modern operational approach.”

Rossiello added that Africa’s dollarization is straining middle-market companies across the continent, which need FinTech solutions to support their demand for U.S. dollars and global payment services.